1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of dispensers that may be used in a retail environment.
2. Description of Related Art
As is known, retail stores undergo a continual cycle of having customers remove the products from the shelves and stocking products back on the shelves. Typically the restocking of shelves is done by store employees. In addition to restocking the shelves, in certain settings such as grocery stores, employees regularly go through the store and move the products to the front of the shelves so that consumers can more readily see and reach the products, this action being known as facing the product. While facing may need to be done throughout the day, preferably the restocking can take place less frequently.
As can be appreciated, a shelf with the products faced suggests that all the items are in stock (suggesting a well run store) and also provides an aesthetically pleasing look to the consumer. Unfortunately, facing products on a shelf is a time consuming task and expensive task. Therefore, to reduce the cost, methods of automatically facing products have been developed.
One common method is to use a spring powered pusher that urges products toward the front of the shelf. Typically a single channel is provided that is wide enough to hold a row of product and a spring loaded pusher moves the remaining product forward after a consumer takes one of the items out of the channel. Occasionally the store employees will push the pusher back and load in additional products. Such a system avoids the need to constantly face the products and is effective for certain types of products but is more difficult to use for heaver items. For heavy items a pusher with increased force is needed to overcome the friction force due to the weight of the product, which results in increased force being exerted on the front product making it difficult to remove. Therefore, an improved device that can be used for facing heavy products would be beneficial.
In addition, certain products are more valuable than others. As can be expected, the higher cost items tend to be disproportionately subject to theft. For example, in a grocery store setting containers of baby formula are relatively expensive and thus tend to be subject to theft. The theft of more expensive items has a greater financial impact on the store and, therefore, methods to reduce theft are highly valuable.
To combat theft, some stores lock up more expensive products or place theft deterrent devices on the containers. For example, some grocery stores lock up containers of baby formula. Unfortunately, when a person desires to purchase a product that is locked up the person must seek the assistance of a store employee. This is inconvenient for both the store and the consumer and has a tendency to reduce the volume of sales of product being locked up. Thus, individuals may simply decide not to purchase the product that is locked up or may look for another store that does not lock up the products. This forces stores to decide between locking up the product and hoping the prevented thefts pay for the reduced sales or not locking up the product and hoping the increased sales pay for the higher level of theft. Therefore, a system that can aid in reducing the theft of items, such as containers of baby formula, while still allowing the consumer to quickly obtain the product would be beneficial.